Statistics:

According to the CDC, drivers under 20 have the highest proportion of fatalities resulting from distracted driving. They even discovered an alarming correlation between students who text while drive, and their likelihood to get in the car with an intoxicated driver. The more students text while driving, the more likely they are to ignore dangerous driving habits as passengers.

Approximately one third of drivers have texted while driving, and three quarters have seen others do it.

Education as Prevention:

Laws are being enacted to try and reduce distracted driving, but one of the best solutions is education. Just glancing at your phone doesn’t seem like a dangerous activity, but at high speed “just a glance” can be the difference between life and death. Let’s do some numbers.

According to the CDC, one text takes your eyes off the road for approximately five seconds. At 55 MPH that’s enough time to cover a football field. That’s about 80 feet per second. A delay of half a second to glance at a phone increases your stopping distance by 40 feet.